Musical about the Battle of Shanghai era to open soon in Beijing

A scene from the new musical "March in the Darkness", produced by China's National Theater for Children, was shown on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 in Beijing before its premiere this weekend. [Photo: China Plus]

A musical about the history of China's national anthem, "March of the Volunteers", will soon take to the stage in Beijing.

The new musical by the China National Theater for Children is set in the era of the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. The 75-minute-long musical, called "March in the Darkness", has over 50 minutes of music.

"The musical basically depicts the life of a group of children who live in a refugee camp in that era," said Yin Xiaodong, the head of the children's theater. "In addition to the children, there are people from all walks of life who were involved in the battle against the Japanese invasion. The musical is comprised of different voice parts that work together to represent different groups of people."

According to Yin, a highlight of the musical will be China's national anthem, "March of the Volunteers", which the children in the story start singing at an early age to help raise their spirits as they face the challenges of war.

The screenwriter of the stage show, Wang Wei, says many children and their parents are unaware of the story behind the battle. "As society develops, people's lives are getting better and better, but I hope this musical will encourage children to have strength in encountering and conquering hardships, and lead their lives well," said Wang.

"March in the Darkness" was produced to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.